“Yes” and “No”
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
A well-known writer says that this verse means, “Say, ‘Yes,’ to God and, ‘No,’ to the devil. It is useless to try to resist the devil without first submitting to God. The devil is too strong for us. Victory begins with surrender—to God. But, on the other hand, we are to follow submission to God with resisting the devil. “The battle is the Lord’s,” but we are not machines, we must put our wills on God’s side and say, “No,” to the enemy. We fight with spiritual weapons, but we still fight, and there is not only passive submission but active resistance.
Some make the mistake of mere submission without a positive stand against the tempter. Others resist without submission, and the devil does not flee. It is a double-barreled admonition. It is a clear-cut call to “Yes” and “No.”
“Let your speech be Yea, yea; Nay, nay.”